All posts tagged: america

| WHAT’S BRAVE TO YOU? |

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We sat  in a bar during ‘las navidades’ sipping on glasses of red wine and nibbling on a selection of pintxos as we talked about being away from our families over the holidays to the meaning of the word brave. Julie is one of the few American woman I’ve met here in San Sebastian and we are kindred souls, despite the 35 year age difference. She’s adventurous and, as some would say, brave. To us, this is a silly word, but we hear it often. She recently dropped her life in the United States to move to San Sebastian and better her Spanish. Even though she doesn’t plan on staying here as long as I do, I did the same exact thing just a few months ago. Many friends back home and many new friends here have told us the same thing: you’re brave for packing your bags and taking off. We’re always humbled when people compliment us on our decision to move, travel, and leave our own country, however, we would never consider ourselves brave. Adventurous, yes. Free-spirited, maybe. But brave? We don’t feel …

| WHERE’D ALL MY MONEY GO? OH RIGHT, COFFEE |

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I didn’t realize how much money my trip would cost overall. I couldn’t be bothered to really think ahead and budget . . I decided to just go with the flow. Turns out, I ended up spending a little more than planned — surprise, surprise. I can say for sure that I lived well these past few months for only spending money and not earning any along my travels. I ate well. I stayed in nice hostels. I stayed with wonderful Couch Surfing hosts. I even bought a few clothes. I paid for most of my major transport prior to leaving the US in January, so not much of the money I had went towards that . . which in the end was one of the smarter decisions I made. Looking back on all my purchases throughout these past three months I can safely say there are a few things I shouldn’t have bothered to buy — but hey, that’s life. But nothing I bought has been useless or not somewhat worth it. The majority …

| through the waves, i have learned |

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The sun sets on my time in Maine while the waves start to grow for the seasoned surfers of the North East Coastal towns. It’s been an amazing summer in Maine but as the season is changing, so is my craving for new adventure – which is why I’m moving back to Spain, to the coastal city of San Sebastian. I called the small coastal village of Kennebunk my home for the past 19 years. But after leaving the country to pursue my four-year-degree in Halifax, NS I found myself living abroad in Madrid, Spain; it was the first time I’d been living in a large city (3.2 million to be exact) – and the closest beach was a four-hour car drive away. It wasn’t until then that I’d realized my need for the coast; the smell of salt air, the view of the vast ocean fading off into the horizon, the steady cry of the seagulls patrolling their countries coast lines, and the bright reds, yellows, and oranges exploding over the deep blue waters …